Low-calorie drinks, that is to say drinks with a reduced content of sugars and free of alcohol, which will be called hereinafter “soft drinks”, are a favoured sector for intense sweeteners, as sugar substitutes. Most soft drinks having a reduced content of calories contain 0 or 1 calorie per liter and are sweetened exclusively with intense sweeteners such as saccharin, aspartame, acesulfame K, cyclamate. However, this substitution is not simple. Indeed, in sugar-free drinks, the first formulas for the complete replacement of sugars with a single sweetener have developed towards solutions involving mixtures, making it possible to reduce certain drawbacks of intense sweeteners: lack of stability to pH or to temperature, pronounced aftertastes above certain concentrations, and to imitate as much as possible the taste profile of sugar which is the reference.
It has been proposed to use sweeteners and sugars in the form of a mixture. For that, the product obtained should have, according to European legislation, an energy value which is reduced by at least 30% relative to the conventional “pure sugar” reference. “Mixed” carbonated drinks exist on the market whose sweet taste is provided half by an intense sweetener and the other half by sugar or a glucose syrup, which maintains an optimum sweet taste which is stable over time, whereas the sweetener decomposes under the effect of the acidity.
The sugars act in the drinks at the level of the sweet/sour taste balance through a mutual suppression effect with the organic acids such as citric acid which is often used. It also contributes to reinforce the flavour notes, which forces formulators to completely review their flavour formulations in the case of partial or complete replacement of the sugar(s).
Finally, in conventional soft drinks, the use of 80 to 120 grams of sugars per liter makes it possible to obtain the ideal viscosity which results in a consistency in the mouth, and a significant and pleasant “body”. The complete replacement of the sugars with small quantities of intense sweeteners produces, on the contrary, a drink which is very flat on the palate.
It has been proposed, in particular in the document EP 0,792,589, to use erythritol as agent for stabilizing aspartame in low-calorie drinks. The use of polyols in this application can, however, pose problems of tolerance and cause intestinal disorders.
A need therefore exists for an ingredient capable of replacing sugars while reducing the calorie supply and the cariogenicity of the drink, while ensuring its supply of fullness in the mouth, and while being stable under the usual acidic pH conditions.
The Applicant then found that this aim could be achieved provided that a particular maltodextrin was used as sugar substitute.